Month: October 2014

What beauty blogger worth their salt wouldn’t go mad in various beauty departments at the prospect of going abroad?

Being so obsessed with skincare, hair care, and the best makeup for particular situations, a change of both country and clime is enough to make even the most restrained of us have a bit of a…well, a “moment”.

By the time you lovelies see this I will have already got back from Morocco, but I thought you’d like to see all the things I decided I “needed” for the trip. We all do it, after all. It’s nice to have some solidarity. Ahem.

Sorry about the light in this photo, I’m aware it’s a bit crap. What can I say? Winter is dark and I have no lamps.

Hair Stuff:

Mini Charles Worthington Colour Enhancer Heat and UV Protecting Spray – Obviously, to protect my poor bleached hair from the sun and heat. Hopefully it will do a good job!

OGX Argan Oil of Morocco Shampoo and Conditioner – They were less than 100ml, promised to nourish my hair, and most importantly had “Morocco” in the title. Never been one to resist the thematically appropriate, me.

Skin Stuff:

Yes to Grapefruit Correct and Repair Brightening Facial Wipes – Because if I brought my whole cleansing routine on the plane with me, it would never fit in that little plastic bag they give you at the airport. Also, grapefruit smell. Mmm.

Piz Buin Allergy Sun Cream, Factor 30 – This is pretty much the only sun cream that doesn’t bring my poor sister out in a rash, and it smells gorgeous. I always say “like butter”, although I can’t put my finger on what it actually smells like.

Lush Tea Tree Water Toner – An old favourite that I just had to pick up in the mini size. If nothing else, it’ll be lovely and refreshing to spritz on my face if it gets too hot to handle out there.

Sanctuary Spa Brightening Facial Radiance Exfoliator – It was in Boots’s 3 for 2 on travel minis offer. What was I supposed to do?

Mini Palmer’s Cocoa Butter – Another old favourite. It smells beautiful and makes a lovely after sun, as well as completing my 3 for 2 on travel minis.

Toiletries:

Blink Contacts Soothing Eye Drops – If you wear daily contact lenses, taking one of these little bottles on trips is much more convenient than carting around a load of saline. Seriously, a godsend!

MAC Eye Kohl in ‘Teddy’ – A gorgeous dark brown liner with a touch of bronze shimmer. Pretty and perfect for travel! I’ve had my eye on it for ages – pun not intended.

Samples of Estée Lauder Double Wear Light and MAC Studio Fix Foundations – I probably won’t wear foundation out there, which is why I’m only taking a little sample pot. These are free, just go to your nearest counter and express an interest in trying whatever foundation you fancy. The likelihood is you’ll buy after you try (we’re such easy sells, aren’t we?) so they should be more than happy to give you a little pot to last 7 days.

Other:

Tisserand De-Stress Aromatherapy Roller Ball – I was tempted by the This Works version, but managed to hunt down this one for less than half the price. I’ve never really liked flying, but with this on my wrists, Cosmo on my lap, and a Harry Potter audiobook on my iPod, hopefully I’ll feel nice and calm!

What are your favourite products to take with you to travel? Let me know in the comments! Lots of love xx

It’s taken me a while to get round to reviewing this one. Partly because I really wanted to do it justice – it’s a cult product, after all – and partly, perhaps more importantly, because I didn’t really have a lot to say.

The thing is, there’s no “wow” factor. Thanks to my oily skin, primer or no primer, my makeup still fades by the end of the day, the hyperpigmentation still pokes through eventually, and I’m still left virtually bare-faced if I don’t top up before I go out again in the evening.

Maybe my choice of foundation and concealer isn’t helping, but for the price, (which is £29, by the way) I’d kind of expect this primer to keep my face absolutely perfect past lunch. But it doesn’t. It just stops some of my makeup from disappearing, rather than all of it.

I’ve used this primer with YSL Perfect Touch, Vichy Dermablend, and Laura Mercier’s own Silk Crème Foundation, and though all of them last longer – 4-5 hours in Vichy’s case – they still can’t hack it for the entire day. Am I asking too much? For someone with dry skin, no. But for a greasy-faced girl, maybe I am.

Here’s a cheeky swatch. See how it comes out sort of like a gel?

Ironically, the one time this primer really impressed me was when I wore it without any other makeup. I was going on a road trip that day, and I’d intended to put my makeup on in the car while my boyfriend was driving. I massaged in some primer before I left the house, then decided I couldn’t be bothered to follow it up with makeup in the car.

At our destination, about 4 hours later, my face was still perfect. There were no pools of oil on either side of my nose, no greasy film over my chin. Usually these appear within an hour of cleansing, so when I finally went to put my makeup on I was really surprised!

So I guess the conclusion to this post is, this stuff is AMAZING…if you’re not wearing makeup. If you are, I don’t think it makes quite enough of a difference. Certainly not twenty nine quid’s worth. Maybe I’m hard to please, but sorry Laura, I’m trying Becca next time.

Well, je regrette un peu. There was some difficulty with the Maybelline Stripped Nudes lipstick. Being a pale nude, it made me look a bit ‘2002 Page 3 Girl.’ In fact, it would have served me very well for the ‘Makeup Through the Ages‘ collaboration that we did a few months back, where I based my look on S Club 7. Jo O’Meara LOVED nude lips. But it wasn’t really for me.

I’m also a bit fearful of the James Read Sleep Mask Tan. I’ve been exfoliating the shiz out of my face of late, so would probably be able to avoid any patchy tanning disasters, but I’m scared. I don’t fake tan my body, so there’s a strong risk that this might look a bit weird on me.

HOWEVER. The other stuff. Oh wow, the other stuff. The main reason I ordered this box was to try the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser, and it did not disappoint. It removes makeup easily, and makes me feel like I’m in a spa. It’s made my evening routine 100 times more relaxing.

You know how some Chinese restaurants give you a hot flannel for your hands, between courses? And how you always want to press them to your face, but it’s slightly inappropriate? The hot cloth cleansing method answers that need. In the most soothing of ways. Sigh.

The Philip Kingsley Daily Damage Defence is also gorgeous. I can’t say much about the long-term damage defence yet, but after I spritz this on, it detangles my hair and makes it feel lovely and soft after a blow dry. It also smells beautifully sweet, so that’s a plus. Thumbs up there.

As for the Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde mascara, although it certainly takes more than un seconde to apply, I’m pretty pleased with it. If you’re careful to apply it right from the roots, it fans out, lengthens, and of course volumises lashes beautifully, without making them clumpy. Hopefully you can see that from my right eye in the picture! The only downside? I live in fear of poking myself in the eye with it. That brush is capable, man.

I’m yet to try out the Eyeko Eye Makeup Remover Wipes, but I use their eyeliner pen almost daily, so I have no doubt that these wipes will remove that brilliantly. That’s what they say, isn’t it? Whoever makes the makeup will make the best remover for it. If they know how the liner or mascara is made, they also have the secrets of the best way to break it down. Cleverrrr. Anyway, I’m saving these wipes for when I need a quick makeup-removing fix – i.e. when I stagger in after a night out. Because I’m classy like that.

Finally, we have the Laura Mercier Foundation Primer. I’ve been using the oil free version of this for a few months, so it’ll be good to have a mini back-up for when I’m travelling light. I’m also intrigued to see the difference between the oil free and normal versions. Although the original foundation primer is not specifically made for greasy skin, I’ve found with some products that the original can work better than the special versions. We’ll have to see if that’s true in this case!

Have you ever ordered a Latest In Beauty box? What are they like? As this box is dedicated to Glamour’s Beauty Power List 2014, do you think these products accurately represent the best in their categories? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Go on, drop us a comment.